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A review by ulanur
Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire by Akala
informative
medium-paced
5.0
This book. Wow. Akala examines race and class in Britain, in the Ruins of Empire (I just love the title and subtitle so much). He starts out by examining his own upbringing as mixed race, his first realisation that he was racialised as black, his escape from poverty (and thus the intersection between race and class), but always with the awareness that he's the exception that proves the rule. Each chapter is filled with personal anecdotes and a deep dive into the societal, historical and cultural contexts.
This book is incredibly well researched. I learned so much about things I wasn't expecting at all, like pre-empire ethnic oppression in Europe (before the black/white race construct), the influence of transatlantic music, and Cuban history of all things.
One little detail I loved is that he used the phrase "racialised as black/white" so it was a constant reminder about the ridiculous construct of race as we know it today, created to uphold white supremacy. He constantly questioned the inherent biases white supremacy left in the British psyche, in the institutions that govern and police.
I also loved the discussion on American racism and how it makes it so easy to point across the pond and say that racism doesn't exist here, when it's as fundamental to British history as American. For instance, did you know that by percentage the UK has a higher black prison population than the USA? Maybe this is my white ignorance speaking but I've never seen that discussed anywhere, it completely shocked me.
This book was just incredible. The writing was so accessible and felt somehow conversational in tone and academic in content at the same time. Highly recommend!
This book is incredibly well researched. I learned so much about things I wasn't expecting at all, like pre-empire ethnic oppression in Europe (before the black/white race construct), the influence of transatlantic music, and Cuban history of all things.
One little detail I loved is that he used the phrase "racialised as black/white" so it was a constant reminder about the ridiculous construct of race as we know it today, created to uphold white supremacy. He constantly questioned the inherent biases white supremacy left in the British psyche, in the institutions that govern and police.
I also loved the discussion on American racism and how it makes it so easy to point across the pond and say that racism doesn't exist here, when it's as fundamental to British history as American. For instance, did you know that by percentage the UK has a higher black prison population than the USA? Maybe this is my white ignorance speaking but I've never seen that discussed anywhere, it completely shocked me.
This book was just incredible. The writing was so accessible and felt somehow conversational in tone and academic in content at the same time. Highly recommend!